If there is one thing to say about the 2012-13 Anaheim Ducks it is that they are a resilient bunch and it takes a whole lot to ruffle their feathers.
Even after a lackluster 4-1 loss to the 30th-place Colorado Avalanche, it is very easy to simply move on. Let us be realistic, the Ducks missed a golden opportunity to punch their ticket to the postseason on Wednesday night with that defeat...so what?
It is going to happen soon...it just didn't happen against a desperate team that was publicly called out be their own goalie (former Duck J.S. Giguere) for caring more about the end of the season than finishing the season.
"You’re facing a team that has nothing to lose," captain Ryan Getzlaf said. "They’re coming out and throwing it on the ice and going after it. They got called out by their goaltender, and teams usually respond to that. We just didn't respond to meet that push.”
Okay, looking ahead, the Ducks have seven game remaining and a lot to look forward to. Once they finally clinch and get into the playoffs...watch-out. This team can win in so many ways and once they clinch I believe they instantly became one of the favorites to win the Stanley Cup.
Consider what the Ducks have done this season and how they have done it. They can win with goaltending, they can win in a shootout (no, not the skills comp), they can come from behind to win, they can score early and lead from start to finish, the find ways to win even in the midst of adversity and they have been consistent. Plus, they have one of the most balanced attacks I have ever seen. They had one bad stretch where they lost four-in-a-row in late March and they pulled out of that to go 5-2-1 in the next eight games.
The Ducks are a solid blend of young guns and grizzled vets, the have re-signed arguably the two most important players (to their team) in the NHL and yet they still continue to fly under the radar. If you ask anybody what the first thing they think of when you say "Anaheim," they will say Disneyland then the Angels, then the Ducks...maybe. The recipe for success is there and this team under the tutelage of Bruce Boudreau and Scott Niedermayer (don't think he hasn't played a role in this,) can win the Stanley Cup.
Anyway enough rambling, if Dallas losses tonight in Nashville, the Ducks will clinch that elusive playoff spot on an off-day; or the Stars win and Anaheim can do it themselves Saturday night in Los Angeles. Now wouldn't that be special.
Would seem fitting; everything the Ducks do seems special right now.
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